Connect with us

Metro

GOOD NEWS: Covid-19 cases, death hit lowest levels in Africa – WHO

Published

on

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Africa has dropped to its lowest levels since the pandemic began in 2019.

WHO said Africa is experiencing its longest-running decline in weekly COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

The international organization made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday. It revealed that Covid-19 infections due to the omicron surge had “tanked” from a peak of more than 308,000 weekly cases to fewer than 20,000 last week.

The health body also said that cases and deaths fell by 29% and 37% respectively in the last week whiles deaths decreased to 239 from the previous week.

Recall that africanewswatch.com reported that several African countries had begun to announce reviews on covid-19 regulations due to the decrease in recorded cases and death. Some of the reported countries on this platform are NamibiaGhana, and South Africa, amongst others.

“With the virus still circulating, the risk of new and potentially more deadly variants emerging remains, and the pandemic control measures are pivotal to effective response to a surge in infections,” said WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti.

Earlier this week, WHO said scientists in Botswana and South Africa detected new forms of the omicron variant, labeled as BA.4 and BA.5, but aren’t sure yet if they might be more transmissible or dangerous.

Metro

Rwandan President, Kagame sacks over 200 military personnel in major shake-up

Published

on

Rwandan President, Paul Kagame has sacked over 200 soldiers including top military brass and commanders from the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) in a massive shake-up.

The dismissed officers include the former Commander of the Reserve Forces, Maj. Gen. Aloys Muganga, and Brig. Gen. Francis Mutiganda, a former Head of External Security in the National Intelligence Services, as well as 14 senior officers.

The announcement of the sacking of the officers which was contained in a statement released by the RDF on Wednesday, did not give reason for the sackings, but the move come a day after the president reshuffled the top echelon of the country’s military, which saw the firing of the Defence Minister and an Army Chief.

The sacking of the soldiers has further heightened tension between Rwanda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, with each side accusing the other of working with rebels to topple one another’s governments, according to reports in local media.

Continue Reading

Metro

UN war crimes court declares Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga unfit to stand trial

Published

on

An 88-year-old Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga has been declared unfit to stand trial by judges at a United Nations War Crimes Court in The Hague.

In a decision published by the court on Wednesday, the judges acknowledged that Kabuga was no longer able to actively participate in his trial, and rather proposed an alternative process that aims to resemble a trial but does not allow for a conviction instead of stopping the proceedings completely.

“The trial chamber finds Mr. Kabuga is no longer capable of meaningful participation in his trial,” the publication said.

“The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, therefore, finds that Mr. Kabuga is not fit for trial and is very unlikely to regain fitness in the future.

“It is therefore agreed to adopt an alternative finding procedure that resembles a trial as closely as possible, but without the possibility of a conviction,” it added.

Kabuga who was arrested in Paris where he had been in hiding under a false identity for several years, was one of the most wanted suspects of the Rwandan genocide, and was charged at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda with genocide and crimes against humanity.

At his initial arraignment in September last year, the ICC heard that Kabuga was alleged to have been the main financier of the ethnic Hutu militias who slaughtered over 800,000 minority Tutsis as well as political opponents during the genocide in 1994.

According to the UN, Kabuga, a wealthy businessman from the Hutu ethnic group, had established and financed an infamous media outfit, Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), which was notorious for inciting violence and promoting the targeting and elimination of individuals from the Tutsi ethnic group who were referred to as “Cockroaches”.

Kabuga was arrested in Paris in 2020 after decades on the run and sent for trial in The Hague where he pleaded not guilty to charges of sponsoring the infamous Hutu radical radio station urging people to kill Tutsi “cockroaches”.

He also denied supplying machetes and supporting the murderous Interahamwe Hutu militia.

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

VenturesNow17 hours ago

Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge...

VenturesNow17 hours ago

Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt...

Metro18 hours ago

Rwandan President, Kagame sacks over 200 military personnel in major shake-up

Rwandan President, Paul Kagame has sacked over 200 soldiers including top military brass and commanders from the Rwanda Defence Force...

Tech18 hours ago

Flutterwave partners Token.io to provide seamless bank transfer to users in UK, EU

Pan-Africa’s payments technology company, Flutterwave has entered into a partnership with Europe’s account-to-account (A2A) payment infrastructure provider, Token.io to power...

Culture19 hours ago

Kenyan govt to convert ‘evil cult’ forest into a memorial site

The Kenyan government says it plans to convert the Shakahola Forest, where bodies of over 250 members of a Christian...

Metro19 hours ago

UN war crimes court declares Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga unfit to stand trial

An 88-year-old Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga has been declared unfit to stand trial by judges at a United Nations...

Sports19 hours ago

FIFA honours Osimhen after amazing season with Napoli

Following his record-breaking season with Napoli where he scored 26 goals to win the Serie A top scorer award, Nigerian...

VenturesNow20 hours ago

Despite revenue crisis, World Bank projects faster growth for Kenya  

The World Bank on Wednesday said progress in the agricultural sector would likely lead to Kenya’s economic growth at a...

Musings From Abroad2 days ago

Angola, Portugal sign 13-point pact spanning finance, law, others    

Angola and Portugal have signed a Memorandum of Understanding including 13 different agreements that cut across financial, legal and other...

VenturesNow2 days ago

Congo DR, Angola advance talks over decades-long oil block dispute

Discussions are on to end a decades-long dispute between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola over an off-shore oil...

Trending